Ras Sheehama (born in 1966 in northern

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

) is a Namibian reggae musician. The political pro-

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

stance of his father David Sheehama, forced him into exile in 1979 to

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. There he started to develop his love for the reggae-music and begin to play guitar. In

for the first time he got in contact with the

Rastafari Rastafari is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion. There is no central authori ...

and

Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

culture. During the time at a high school in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

between 84 and 88 he played in several Reggae bands. When he returned home in 1990 to witness the first free elections in his home country, he brought huge experiences to Namibia. Since 1990 he has released several LPs and cassettes which are only available in

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. From these tapes several hits were successful continuously in Namibia. Sheehama was able to win several national prices. The recording band of Ras Sheehama was composed of famous musicians from well-known South African bands Stimela and Bayete which was also of

Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007 3 August 1964 – 18 October 2 ...

. Ras Sheehama is an outstanding singer, who understands to show African joy of life and criticism of the political and social situation of past and future. Rastafari is always a central point in his songs without becoming pathetic at all. In the end of May 1999 Ras Sheehama celebrated his first show in Germany together with the former

Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007 3 August 1964 – 18 October 2 ...

's Band The Slaves at the

Africa Festival Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Ras has performed in Germany, UK,

uba Uba or UBA (and diacritic variations) may refer to: Agriculture * Uba, a cultivar of '' Saccharum sinense'' Place names * Ubá, small tropical city in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil * Uba, Nigeria, part of Askira/Uba Local Government Area in B ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He also opened the show for the legendary reggae act

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

in Johannesburg in 2001 and for Manu Di Bango in 1995 in

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

. Ras Sheehama won the Music Award Category for his song ''Inotela'' in 1996 which led him to perform at the Music Festival Le Printemps de Bourges in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1997 and thereafter to open for Ismael Lo at the Reunion Island the same year. In March 2005, Ras launched his fifth album ''Pure Love'' followed quickly in June 2006 by his 6th album ''Travelling On...'', a blend of some of Ras's most popular songs spanning two decades.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehama, Ras 1966 births Living people 20th-century Namibian male singers Namibian guitarists Reggae musicians